Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How to use deus ex machina safely?

One of my main character's traits is that she has some superstitious beliefs. That trait is not essential to the MC, but everyone in the era of my story is. I'm contemplating a plot point near the ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by iamtowrite‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T11:22:00Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43585
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar iamtowrite‭ · 2019-12-08T11:22:00Z (almost 5 years ago)
One of my main character's traits is that she has some superstitious beliefs. That trait is not essential to the MC, but everyone in the era of my story is. I'm contemplating a plot point near the end that the reader might perceive as deus ex machina, but the plot point isn't the actual climax, it's a _faux_ climax.

To bring the idea home, my MC is one who believes good people are afflicted with calamities, only to be corrected and restored by a superpower without much effort on one's behalf. Then an event happens (like some relative wins the lottery and promises to help) that the MC thinks is the solution to all problems, only to discover this solution is not happening, _or it made things even worse_.

If the reader knows that the MC is superstitious would that be enough foreshadowing for the faux climax I'm considering? Or, would they think its a cheap shot on my part? I'm thinking of this because it could be the last lesson my MC needs to finish her arch.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-03-15T17:42:19Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 12